Spaghetti Bolognese
By lolman101
Spaghetti Bolognese is a classic. You don't need a lot of ingredients to create a really tasty dish and cooking it in the oven means you get great depth of flavour. It's a perfect meal for kids – don't be worried about the wine as the alcohol cooks away.
- 6
- Easy
- Average budget
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 6 rashers higher-welfare dry-cured smoked streaky bacon, sliced 1cm thick
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 500 g quality British beef mince
- 200 ml red wine
- 1 x 280 g jar of sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 x 400 g tins of plum tomatoes
- 500 g dried spaghetti
- Parmesan cheese
- extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Put a casserole pan on a medium heat, add a splash of olive oil then cook the bacon, rosemary, garlic and onion for about 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft. Add the mince and break apart any lumps with a wooden spoon. Let it cook for a couple of minutes until starting to brown then pour in the red wine.
Step 2
Let that bubble away while you drain and blitz the sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor. Add them to the mince with the tinned tomatoes. Stir well and break the plum tomatoes apart a little. Cover with a lid then cook in the hot oven for 1 hour. Remove the lid after 30 minutes, and if it looks a little dry, add a splash of water to help it along.
Step 3
About 10 minutes before the time is up, cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions. Drain, reserving a mugful of cooking water, then return the spaghetti to the hot pan with a few spoons of Bolognese, a good grating of Parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Mix it about to coat the spaghetti and to stop it becoming claggy, loosening with a splash of cooking water if needed. Divide the spaghetti between your plates or bowls, add a good spoonful of Bolognese to each one then shave over a little Parmesan before serving.